Cobbler vs Warewulf
Cobbler
cobbler.github.io
Warewulf
warewulf.orgSide by side
| Figure | Cobbler | Warewulf |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Bare Metal Provisioning Software | 8.1 (#7) | 7.4 (#22) |
| Spec score · OS Imaging & Deployment Software | 8.0 (#7) | 7.4 (#15) |
| Integrations | Cobbler can integrate with external configuration management systems including cfengine3, Puppet, bcfg2 and Chef, and also has an internal lightweight system. | The project identifies container tooling, CI/CD pipelines, OpenHPC, Ansible, and Slurm among the tools and ecosystems it works with or aims to integrate with. |
| Provisioning | It supports PXE deployments, virtualization with Xen, QEMU/KVM or VMware, and reinstallation of existing Linux systems. | Warewulf supports iPXE network booting and template-based overlays applied at boot or runtime. |
| Purpose | Cobbler is a Linux installation server for setting up and automating network installation environments. | Warewulf provisions and manages stateless Linux clusters, most prominently for high-performance computing. |
| Security | The security policy says Cobbler has no SELinux or AppArmor profile and advises protecting it because it manages DHCP and TFTP and has broad network control. | Warewulf supports SELinux and offers asset-key checks, secure mode, optional TLS for runtime overlays, and Secure Boot with shim and GRUB. |
| Support | The project directs users to its mailing list, GitHub issues and community chat for help. | Warewulf offers free documentation, Slack, and GitHub community resources, while commercial support is available through CIQ and SUSE. |
Plans
In their own words
Cobbler
Cobbler is free, self-hosted Linux server software for creating and automating network installation environments. It supports PXE deployments, virtualization with Xen, QEMU/KVM, or VMware, and reinstallation of existing Linux systems. Administrators can coordinate DNS, DHCP, package updates, power management, and configuration-management orchestration. Interfaces include a command line, WebUI, and Python and XML-RPC APIs. Automated installation formats include AutoYaST for SUSE and openSUSE, Kickstart, and Preseed for Debian and Ubuntu. Templates and reusable snippets generate installation files and manage services such as DNS and DHCP. Cobbler integrates with cfengine3, Puppet, bcfg2, and Chef, or its internal lightweight system. It can be installed from distribution packages or source; pip installation is documented but not recommended. Python 3 is required, and server setup needs Apache, certificate, and administration knowledge. Security guidance notes broad network control and no SELinux or AppArmor profile. The project describes use in small and large installations.